Analysis: Gas prices siphon sales from restaurants

She is also staying closer to home when she goes out and runs errands with her family to save on gas.

"We usually go out to dinner a few times per week and now we are only going out once a week if at all," the 32-year-old mother of two from Duarte, California said.

That concern is not good news for sit down restaurants and traditional grocers.

Typically, a rise in gasoline price is usually offset by a cutback on eating out and a trade down to more affordable grocery chains, said Ken Perkins, president of research firm Retail Metrics.

Some analysts think restaurants such as Brinker International Inc's Chili's Grill & Bar and Darden Restaurant Inc's Olive Garden and Red Lobster chains will be among the first to take a hit from high gasoline prices as Americans buy more affordable fast-food from chains such as McDonald's Corp's.

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